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On Wednesday, members of the UN Security council called for an investigation into the latest claim of chlorine gas chemical attacks in a rebel-held part of Syria, expressing their apprehension over the reports. The briefing of the fifteen member organization had taken place behind closed doors and was conducted by Sigrid Kaag, who is co-ordinating the mission which oversees the removal of Syria’s chemical weapon stockpile by the June 30 deadline.
The ambassador of Nigeria, Joy Ogwu, said that the members “expressed concern about alleged reports about the use of chlorine gas in some towns, which left people dead and injured, and called for an investigation of this incident”. When pressed, Ogwu gave no details of how an inquiry would be conducted. “We’re still waiting to confirm the authenticity of the reports. Until we have the full facts we cannot take any decision on this matter”, she said. Ogwu added that there was “no decision” on who would be conducting the investigation, saying “we heard a briefing and we made comments on the briefing”.
The United States and France allege that President Assad’s forces may have unleashed industrial chemical attacks on a rebel-held village in the Hama province this month. There have been many conflicting accounts regarding the alleged chlorine gas attack in Kafr Zita, with the opposition and the government blaming each other over it. Activists on Monday had reported of chlorine attacks in other parts of the country, most recently in the northwest province of Idlib.
Syrian ambassador Bashar Jaafari unconditionally denied all claims of the government using chlorine gas as a weapon. “The aim of this kind of allegations emanating from Washington or elsewhere is to overshadow the successful preparations for the presidential elections in Syria”, he said. On Tuesday, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said that Syria has gotten rid of 86.5% of its chemical weapon arsenal. According to the terms of a Russian and US brokered deal, Syria is to destroy all of its chemical stockpiles by June 30.
